Intelligent security has become a widespread and necessary reality of modern day civilization. One aspect of known intelligent security is video surveillance. Video surveillance is being increasingly used and accordingly, the number of cameras or other collection devices has also increased.
In known video surveillance systems, several cameras or other collection devices are often used to monitor a given location. For example, one video surveillance camera can be used to monitor an entry way to a particular building. Separate video surveillance cameras can be used to monitor each room in the building, and another video surveillance camera can be used to monitor the exit door of the building.
When a person, object, or group moves around the premises and from room to room of the building, it is difficult to create a single coherent video data stream of that person, object, or group. Traditionally, creating such a video data stream would require manually notating the different cameras capturing the person and then creating clips at different start and stop times from the various cameras. Then, a person would have to manually combine the various clips into a coherent video data stream. This is a time consuming, tedious, and convoluted process.
For example, in a forensics operation, often an evidentiary video data stream of a person, object, or group is desired to show the movement of that person, object, or group around a particular city, building, room, etc. As explained above, known solutions only provided for the manual creation of the evidentiary video data stream. The time, expense, man hours, and complexity associated with the manual creation of a coherent video data stream showing an object as it moves through a particular area has led many users to desire an automated or guided system and method for creating such a coherent data stream.
Accordingly, there is a continuing, ongoing need for an automated or interactive system and method for creating a coherent video stream showing an object as it moves through a particular area. Preferably, the coherent video data stream can be created from video data streams from more than one camera capturing the object as it moves between areas that are covered by the different cameras.